


We're Better Now

by Lokiismylife27



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Crying, Everyone Needs A Hug, Family Feels, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Harley Keener Needs a Hug, Healing, Loki & Tony Stark Friendship, Loki (Marvel) Does What He Wants, Pepper Potts Feels, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Tony Stark Feels, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, literally everyone in this fic needs a hug, loki lives, no really, or the beginning of one
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-29
Updated: 2020-05-29
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:46:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,870
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24434557
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lokiismylife27/pseuds/Lokiismylife27
Summary: In honor of Tony Stark's birthday, May 29th 2020.Loki watches how miserable the Stark family is without Tony, and decides to Do Something about it.
Relationships: Harley Keener & Peter Parker & Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Harley Keener & Tony Stark, Loki & Tony Stark, Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe) & Tony Stark, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Comments: 12
Kudos: 135





	We're Better Now

**Author's Note:**

> A few things.   
> 1, Loki is alive in this. Don't ask why or how, I just needed him around for this to work.  
> 2, Hela is the Queen of Helheim and Goddess of Death in this. Angela/Aldrif from the comics was the villain in Thor: Ragnarok.  
> Finally, if you don't like Tony Stark for some reason, turn away now. HE DESERVES A HAPPY ENDING DAMMIT!
> 
> Also, please leave comments and kudos, they make me happy!

**We’re Better Now**

Loki watched the Stark family from a distance, and sighed. Pepper was trying to stay strong for the kids, as were Rhodey and Happy, but they weren’t really doing a very good job- especially Rhodey. 

Meanwhile, Peter was blaming himself, Morgan was crying most of the time, and Harley was trying to stay strong, but Loki could tell that all the teen wanted to do was break down.

Loki had always liked Tony Stark, from the moment they met. That had never changed, and he was very impressed that Tony had managed to wield the Infinity Gauntlet. And truth be told, he wanted Tony back too.

Loki thought of and discarded several things he could trade for Tony’s soul, since he knew his soul was bound for Helheim when he died already. Finally he hit on an (admittedly somewhat crazy) idea, and stuffed his latest memory of Morgan sobbing into Peter’s shoulder while Peter tried to hold back tears into a crystal. The spell was simple; the crystal absorbed the memory, and would play it like a video when activated with the right spell. Loki took the memory crystal, and slid into the space between realms, heading to Helheim.

He fed Garm, Hela’s guard dog, some honey cakes, and the massive hound moved aside. Loki was quick to go to Hela’s throne room.

Entering the throne room, Loki saw Hela on the throne. She looked exasperated when she saw him, and said, “You’re not dead. Please leave, the last time was bad enough.”

“I’m not here to annoy you or start another rebellion,” Loki said. 

Hela studied him, then sighed. “I suppose you want the three who didn’t come back to life?” she asked.

“My main goal was Anthony Stark, but if you’re amenable…” Loki said, a bit cautiously.

Hela shook her head. “Gamora and Natasha Romanov are trapped in the Soul Stone; they are not here,” she said regretfully. “On top of that, bringing that Gamora back will create a paradox, considering there is already a Gamora alive in this universe.”

“And Stark?” Loki asked.

“I could return him to life, and give him a new body; his body was too badly damaged at the time of his death for me to return his soul to it,” Hela said. “However, I rather enjoy the man’s company, even if he reminds me far too much of you. So this begs the question- why should I give him up?”

Loki took out the memory crystal, and Hela sighed. Taking that as permission, Loki activated the crystal, and the throne room vanished, replaced by the front porch of the Starks’ house. 

_ Morgan was sitting on the couch out front, tears dripping down her face. Peter came out looking morose, and sat next to her. “Hey,” he said sadly. _

_ “Hi,” Morgan said miserably. “Is Mommy crying again?” _

_ “Yeah…” Peter said. “So’s Uncle Rhodey. I miss our Dad, Morgan.” _

_ Morgan started sobbing, and Peter pulled her into his arms, shoulders shaking as he tried not to cry. Morgan latched onto him, and he pulled her into his lap, hugging her just as tightly as she hugged him. _

The scene cut off, and Loki looked at Hela pointedly. “Okay! Fine! He can go back, but you get to tell him that he’s coming back here after his time is up,” Hela said irritably. “Wait here, I have to make him a new body.”

Loki waited for some indeterminate amount of time… time was meaningless in Helheim… before Hela came back with a very much alive Tony Stark- who looked about ten years younger than he had when he died. He also looked very confused, and Loki bowed to Hela, saying, “Thank you for your generosity, Your Majesty.”

“Just go away…” Hela sighed irritably. 

Loki held out a hand to Tony, who took it with an air of confusion. As they walked down the pathway Loki had taken to get to Helheim, Tony asked, “What is going on?”   
  


“I saw how unhappy your family was, and since I actually like you, I went to Hela to get you back,” Loki explained. “She’s irritated because she likes you and my ploy to get you out was to show her Morgan and Peter crying and talking about how much they miss you. She likes kids.”

He felt Tony wince. “It wasn’t your fault, not entirely,” Loki told him. “Something had to be done about Thanos, and while I think that third-rate hack wizard could have looked through a few more futures, you did what you had to to save the universe.”

“Wait, there were more futures?” Tony asked.

“The possibilities are literally infinite, and if he had gone through many more, he would have likely lost his sanity,” Loki admitted. “I was very impressed that you managed to wield all the Stones at once.”

“Aw, I didn’t know you liked me so much,” Tony said teasingly.

Loki rolled his eyes. “Don’t let it go to your head,” he said.

They came out in Tony’s front yard, and noticed that Morgan, Peter, and Harley were down on the dock, looking at the water. “I’ll go get them,” Loki said. “Have fun explaining your resurrection to Lady Pepper.”

Tony gave him a dirty look, and headed up to the porch while Loki headed down to the dock. 

Tony hesitated before opening the door and going in. Rhodey was in the living room, holding Pepper while she sobbed, and they both looked up when Tony walked in. Both their jaws dropped, and Pepper asked in shock, “Tony?”

“Hey Pep, hey Rhodey,” Tony said, slightly nervously. “I’m back.”

“...How?” Pepper asked faintly.

“Loki likes me!” Tony said gleefully. “He came and got me out of Helheim.”

Pepper let out a sob and practically tackled him. Tony barely managed to stay on his feet- then ended up on the floor anyways when Rhodey did the same.

**_Meanwhile, with Loki…_ ** Loki walked down to the dock, and the kids looked up at him. “Mr. Loki?” Peter asked, confused.

“I brought a surprise for the three of you,” Loki said, smiling. “It should be in the living room.”

Curiosity piqued, the kids got up, Peter picking up Morgan and settling her on his hip. Loki had noticed both Harley and Peter had a habit of carrying Morgan around like that; it seemed to comfort all three of them.

Loki led them up to the house, and they went in. There was a moment of silence as the three registered who was there, and then three shrieks of “DAD!” before they threw themselves at Tony. Loki snickered slightly as Tony fell to the ground with three kids clinging to him and all talking and crying at the same time.

Loki stopped snickering and let out an undignified yelp when Pepper tackled him, sobbing and thanking him repeatedly. Loki cautiously hugged her back, and mouthed, ‘Help me’ at Rhodey. He just started snickering.

“Uh… kids, I kind of can’t breathe…” Tony said.

Harley and Peter got off of him reluctantly, and Harley picked up Morgan, settling her on his hip as Peter helped Tony up. “Sorry Dad,” he said sheepishly.

Tony blinked a bit, then grinned. “It’s fine,” he said. “You three seem close.”

“We bonded over how much we missed you,” Harley said quietly. “And Peter and I bonded over having a younger sister to look after. None of us really handled losing you in a sane manner, and Peter’s an idiot.”   
  


Peter sputtered. “I am not!” he said defensively.

“You told both Morgan and I that you were sorry that you didn’t take the Gauntlet and use it instead of Dad, and don’t think I don’t know you’re still blaming yourself- like an idiot,” Harley said flatly. “Dad would never have let you near the Gauntlet in the first place, much less let you  _ die saving him.” _

“Harley’s right, Pete,” Tony said quietly. “I would never want you to die in my place, nor would I have let you anywhere near those stones if I could prevent it. Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t have even let you near a battlefield like that.”

Peter sniffled, and Tony hugged him. “I’m sorry,” he said quietly. “To all of you.”

Morgan and Harley went over and joined the hug. After a while, Tony asked, “So you two are living here now?”

“Yeah,” Harley said. “It’s been about a month since you died, and Pepper managed to convince Mom and Pete’s Aunt May that she and Rhodey could homeschool us for a while. None of us have really been dealing well, and the school year had already started when we were brought back.”

“Did Pepper let you customize bedrooms?” Tony asked. 

“Mommy’s sleeping in my room now,” Morgan said. “She said she couldn’t sleep in the big bed by herself, so Pete, Harley, and I took over your bedroom after a few really bad nights.”

“Harley and I both have nightmares, and having Morgan to cuddle helps,” Peter added.

Tony got an expression of guilt, and said quietly, “I’m sorry.”

“Why?” Harley asked. “It’s not your fault we have nightmares, Dad.”

Tony gave him a Look, and Harley huffed. “Fine, so you dying really screwed all of us up, but you went out saving the entire universe,” he said. “Besides, I’m not nearly as bad as Rhodey. Out of all of us, he and Peter were the worst.”

“Do I want to know?” Tony asked.

“Rhodey practically went unresponsive after the funeral, and  _ Loki  _ had to snap him out of it,” Harley said flatly. “And Peter was so busy blaming himself that it took a week before he noticed that he had siblings.”

“At least I’m not bottling up all my feelings and still insisting that I’m the sane one,” Peter grumbled.

“ _ Someone  _ had to be the emotional support pillar around here, and I’ve done it before,” Harley snapped. “I managed when my biological dad left, there’s no reason I can’t do it again.”

“But now you don’t have to, because Daddy’s back,” Morgan said.

Harley stared at her for a minute, before looking back at Tony. “Kid, c’mere,” Tony said.

Harley went over, and Tony hugged him tightly. Harley’s shoulders started shaking as he hugged back, and then he broke down, sobbing as he buried his face in Tony’s shoulder, clutching Tony like his life depended on it.

When Harley calmed down, he wiped his face on his sleeve and mumbled, “Sorry.”

“I should be saying that,” Tony said. “But I’m back now, and we’ve got a lot more time together.”

“More than you think,” Loki said dryly. “Hela took about ten years off the age you were when you died.”

“That explains a lot,” Rhodey said. “You do look ten years younger, Tony.”

Tony grinned. “So… we’re better now?” Peter asked hopefully.

The others smiled, and Tony said, “Yeah, Pete. We’re better now.” Then he frowned a bit, and asked, “Where’s Happy?”

“Morgan wanted cheeseburgers, and I called and told him to get extra,” Pepper explained. “She’s turning into you.”

Tony laughed, and that set the others off. Loki chuckled a bit too, happy that his plan had worked. Things would be better now.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed this, I know it's pretty self-indulgent.


End file.
